The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ingersoll Middle School
Ingersoll Middle School serves roughly 600 students in grades 5 through 8 across Canton, a small Fulton County city navigating slow recovery from the closure of its historic manufacturing base. The school is a regular public school operated by Canton Union SD 66.
Reading the most recent state assessment data reveals a school with a split academic profile. In English language arts, performance is measurably stronger: sixth and seventh graders achieve proficiency at near-even rates, and eighth grade edges above half of students meeting or exceeding standards. Fifth grade ELA proficiency sits lower but still meaningfully above math. Mathematics performance is notably weaker across all grades. Sixth grade shows the softest results overall in math, while fifth and seventh grades sit somewhat higher; eighth grade math proficiency is below sixth and fifth. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Fulton County's districts, a positioning that owes primarily to the ELA strength and moderately solid science results. Science proficiency in grades five and eight hovers near the lower end of passing thresholds.
The school's participation and completion rates on state assessments are strong, consistently near or above 97 percent, indicating reliable test administration and student engagement with the testing process itself.
Student enrollment is stable at roughly 600, with grades fairly evenly distributed. The student body is overwhelmingly white; Asian, Black, and Hispanic students together make up a small share of the population. No data was available on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learner count, limiting visibility into the socioeconomic and academic-need composition of the school. Similarly, state testing data for grades 3 and 4 was not available, so only grades 5 through 8 contribute to the proficiency picture.
Canton itself is a small, historically industrial city undergoing gradual change. A century of plow manufacturing through the International Harvester plant shaped the town until that facility's closure. The city's downtown retains a compact, walkable historic character centered on a town square, though it has experienced weathering from deindustrialization and a 2024 gas explosion that damaged several downtown buildings. Major employers today include Graham Health System, Cook Medical (a medical device manufacturer that opened more recently), the Illinois River Correctional Center, Spoon River College, and large retailers. Some residents commute to East Peoria for manufacturing work. Housing remains very affordable by national standards, with median home values and estimated monthly mortgage payments among the lowest in the state, which may appeal to families seeking lower cost of living.
A parent considering this school should recognize its stronger writing and reading foundation alongside its significantly softer mathematics performance. The disparity between subjects is notable and worth exploring directly with the school regarding how math instruction and support are structured, whether there have been recent curriculum changes, and what individual and small-group intervention options exist. The overall proficiency standing relative to Fulton County peers is solid but not exceptional; much of the school's relative standing rests on ELA strength. Given the data gaps around economic need and special populations, a visit or conversation with school leadership would help clarify the full context of student support, available resources, and school climate.
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